The union that represents Newport’s teachers is expected to file multiple unfair labor practices and grievances in a dispute over layoffs and displacements of more than 20 percent of unionized teachers, according to teachers’ union president Jennifer Hole. The filings follow a vote of no confidence by the Teachers Association of Newport (TAN) in the […]
Frank Prosnitz
Frank Prosnitz brings to WhatsUpNewp several years in journalism, including 10 as editor of the Providence (RI) Business News and 14 years as a reporter and bureau manager at the Providence (RI) Journal. Prosnitz began his journalism career as a sportswriter at the Asbury Park (NJ) Press, moving to The News Tribune (Woodbridge, NJ), before joining the Providence Journal. Prosnitz hosts the Morning Show on WLBQ radio (Westerly), 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. Monday through Friday, and It’s Your Business, also on WBLQ, Monday and Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
Prosnitz has twice won Best in Business Awards from the national Society of American Business Editors and Writers (SABEW), twice was named Media Advocate of the Year by the Small Business Administration, won an investigative reporter’s award from the New England Press Association, and newswriting award from the Rhode Island Press Association.
Posted inNews
Dispute erupts over teacher layoff and displacements in Newport
A dispute over teacher layoffs and displacements, and the growing number of multi-language learners has evolved into a vote of no confidence by the Teachers Association of Newport (TAN) in Superintendent of Schools Colleen Burns Jermain and Director of Multi-Language Learners (MLL) Ronilee Mooney. The teachers no confidence vote took place last week but was […]
Posted inNews
Rhode Island Kids Count: Diving deeper into the Newport County numbers
When Rhode Island Kids Count released its annual factbook in early May, it painted a broad picture of the state of children in Rhode Island, from school achievement to health care and poverty, and much more. In all, Kids Count measured the health and well-being of children in 70 different areas. WhatsUpNewp took a deep […]
Posted inNews
Newport superintendent reflects on challenging year, and expectations in a What’sUpNewp videocast
With the school year quickly coming to a close, Newport School Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain joins What’sUpNewp for her monthly videocast at 2:30 p.m. on Wednesday, May 29, and we’ll ask her to reflect on this past year and her hopes and expectations for the year ahead. This is a school system with considerable challenges, […]
Posted inNews
Through budget and a smaller bond, Chariho schools hope to address facility issues
Educators in Chariho, still reeling from the defeat of a $150 million bond to replace three elementary schools and upgrade the main campus, are preparing to go back to voters in November with a much smaller bond to address the safety issues on the main campus. Additionally, they hope to seek up to $2.3 million […]
Posted inNews
Newport focuses on workforce/middle class housing
For Newport to fill critical public and private industry jobs within the city, it needs to focus on development of workforce and middle-income housing in a city that is more than 90 percent developed. That’s the assessment of Mayor Xaykham (Xay) Khamsyvoravong, who when asked if the lack of workforce and middle-income housing is causing […]
Posted inColumns
Just My Opinion: In ‘a doozy of a news year,’ we strive to find fact over fiction
As some have suggested, this should be “a doozy of a news year.” And our ability to determine fact from fiction will be tested. We’ll be inundated with press releases, statements and advertisements from politicians at the local, statewide and federal levels. “So, we need to defend ourselves against being duped,” says Harvard University in […]
Posted inCity & Government, News
As New Englanders age, the number of nursing homes declines
As New England’s population ages, the number of nursing homes in the region is declining rapidly, and it’s having its impact on the economy. More of the region’s elderly are “aging in place,” with state programs and family members often providing care, according to the Boston Federal Reserve’s report on nursing home closures that was […]
Posted inNews
What’s next for Chariho after $150 million school bond is defeated
Educators chase down water leaks at Richmond Elementary School, at times forcing the school to close. Some classes at Ashaway elementary are held in a trailer. At Charlestown Elementary, occupational therapies and other similar programs are held in hallways for lack of space. All three schools are more than 75 years old and are part […]
Posted inCity & Government, News
Kids Count: Childhood population declining in Rhode Island
In a sweeping statistical profile of children and youth in Rhode Island, Kids Count found that while the Ocean State’s population has increased slightly, its 18 and under population is declining, and large disparities exist based on wealth, poverty, race and ethnicity. Kids Count’s annual Factbook is being presented this morning to a collection of […]
Posted inCity & Government
Campaign Finance: Leadership has its benefits
Leadership has its benefits – at least when it comes to campaign finances in Rhode Island. Just ask Speaker of the Rhode Island House of Representatives K. Joseph Shekarchi, D-Warwick, who reported on April 30 that his campaign fund had raised over $200,000 in the first quarter of 2024, leaving a fund balance of nearly […]
Posted inNews
Mayor Xay expects no tax increase for full-time Newport residents
Full-time Newport residents, with house values below $1.1 million, should not expect a property tax increase, even though the proposed city budget suggests a 3.25 percent budget increase and a nearly 4 percent tax levy increase, according to Mayor Xay Khamsyvoravong. Commercial property taxes and taxes on residents who are not full-time residents – those […]
Posted inNews
HousingWorks RI, a leader in addressing an “urgent housing crisis”
HousingWorks RI at Roger Williams University, recognized as a leading source for information in what has been described as an “urgent housing crisis,” is among three winners of Grow Smart Rhode Island’s 12th annual Rhode Island Smart Growth Awards. “Housing Works RI has become the premier Rhode Island go to source for data and policy […]
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Newport Schools’ Superintendent Jermain joins What’sUpNewp for a one-on-one conversation on Friday
With less than two months remaining in the school year, Rogers High School seniors may be focused on June 12 – graduation day – and while faculty and administration might also revel in that achievement for so many students, they will also be focused on a myriad of issues that plague educators not only in […]
Posted inArts & Culture, People & Profiles
Conversation with the world’s leading ‘garbage artist;’ his trolls coming to Rhode Island
“Trash is treasure,” says Thomas Dambo, a Danish artist who has turned garbage into bigger-than-life sculptures, a giant swan in Denmark to trolls in Rhode Island. In a few days, on May 3, the first two of possibly six or seven trolls will take residence in Charlestown’s Ninigret Park. Dambo’s trolls, all built from recycled […]
Posted inColumns
Just My Opinion: Perhaps inflation is really linked to corporate greed
GDP, CPI, WPI, corporate profits, tax avoidance, consumer confidence … goes on and on, as we all try to understand the state of an economy that some politicians say is soaring and others say is in the tank. Which is it? Don’t expect me to tell you. I’m no economist. Although economists like the University […]
Posted inNews
Inflation in N.E. remains among lowest in the U.S.
Despite rapidly increasing house prices, inflation in New England remains among the lowest in the nation, at 2.1 percent compared to 3.2 percent nationally, according to the latest Economic Conditions Report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. The Boston Fed said costs rose for housing, food, transportation, and medical prices, while “all other expenditure […]
Posted inNews
Tourism forecast – ‘reasons to be optimistic’
With airlines struggling, a world in chaos, and consumers cautious about spending in a presidential election year, you might think that would project a bleak outlook for the upcoming tourism season. But to the contrary. Evan Smith, President and CEO of Discover Newport, says those factors leave him with “a lot of reasons to be […]
Posted inColumns
Just My Opinion: Renovating a historic theater – more than two decades later
As I sat in the newly renovated New Amsterdam Theater on Broadway some years ago, I could not help but marvel at how this renovation recaptured a golden era, and its importance to the economic revival of New York City’s Broadway district. It was, perhaps, the showpiece of the district’s revitalization, a Disney project to […]
Posted inNews
Exploring challenges while creating a new vision for Newport Schools — WUN’s monthly conversation with Newport’s School Superintendent
Newport’s Rogers High School has among the highest percentage of poor students in Rhode Island, and it is reflected in test scores. It is also reflected in high levels of absenteeism, something schools statewide are trying to resolve, including Newport. Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain joins WUN tomorrow at 1:30 p.m. for our live virtual video […]
Posted inNews
‘No daffodils for the North End’
What began as a documentary about city residents’ resilience during the pandemic has evolved into an organization that is demonstrating how resilient the city really is. Susan Sipprelle, a documentary filmmaker, spent three years shooting, editing, and developing “Newport: In This Together,” interviewing 108 Newporters and finding a city and its residents that are resilient, […]
Posted inNews
Celebrating 12 years of What’sUpNewp
WhatsUpNewp, today (March 12), celebrates its 12th anniversary. It would have been hard to imagine a decade ago that this idea would evolve into such an influential and vital part of so many lives – telling the stories from various entertainment stages to the streets of Newport, from local government meetings to the State House. […]
Posted inNews
New England: Wages increasing faster than inflation
For New England, wage increases are outpacing declining inflation, according to the latest New England Economic Conditions report, released last week by the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Even so consumer confidence last month “was down slightly” from a year earlier, while nationally it increased by a small margin, the Boston Fed reports. The Federal […]
Posted inCity & Government
Will de-politicizing CRMC win legislative support?
Shoreline access has been a hot-button issue for many communities in Rhode Island as legislators seek to adopt rules to assure Rhode Islanders’ access to beaches, protect homeowners, and strengthen the organization that oversees the state’s shoreline. That was the motivation behind the legislation proposed by Senator Victoria Gu, D-Dist. 38 (Charlestown, Westerly, South Kingstown) […]
Posted inCity & Government
Budget, school construction, and attendance are all on the agenda for WUN’s conversation with Newport School Superintendent
While kids were on their winter break, Newport School Superintendent Colleen Burns Jermain remained focused on a myriad of issues, including strategic planning, the budget, and Rogers High School construction. She joins WUN for her monthly videocast on Wednesday, February 28, at 1:30 p.m. to discuss these and other issues in Newport schools. These are […]